From Anahuac to Big Bend, Texas parks get big stimulus $$

Federal parks and wildlife sanctuaries in Texas — from Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge on Galveston Bay to Mission Espada in San Antonio to Big Bend National Park in West Texas — will see nearly $20 million in stimulus spending this year, officials said Tuesday.

The federal money for parks, wildlife reserves and Indian reservations in Texas is part of more than $1.8 billion being distributed by the Department of the Interior to help jump-start the economy.

In some cases the money will be used to install green technology. Some parks plan to use the funds to restore trails, facilities and habitat that have suffered flood and hurricane damage.

“We certainly need the help,” said David Elkowitz, Big Bend’s chief of interpretation.

Repairs are under way on campgrounds, roads, picnic tables and trails inundated by Rio Grande flooding last year. “There was quite a bit of damage,” Elkowitz said.

The remote park attracts 400,000 visitors a year, most of them from the state’s largest urban centers: Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth.

Padre Island National Seashore is getting $123,000 to remove debris deposited along the coastline by Hurricanes Katrina and Ike.

And Texas Chenier Plain Refuge Complex, which includes wildlife sanctuaries on the state’s Southeast coast, will get $6.4 million to replace a visitor center destroyed by Ike.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, outlining how $280 million will be spent for all national wildlife refuges, this week said the money would “provide an opportunity for us to enhance wildlife conservation while putting Americans back to work under the president’s recovery plan.”

Earlier, he announced $750 million for the National Park Service, $500 million for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and $320 million for the Bureau of Land Management.

Stimulus projects also include:

• $192,000 worth of road improvements near the Kickapoo reservation near Eagle Pass.

Besides repairing flood damage, Big Bend National Park’s infusion of $1.1 million will improve trails and repair a historic law enforcement headquarters.

Mission Espada is getting $103,000 to connect the site to San Antonio’s water and sewage system, said Al Remley, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park chief of interpretation. Remley said the mission currently uses a septic system.

$228,000 is slated for Amistad National Recreation Area near Del Rio to remove trash and debris. The U.S.-Mexico border reservoir had 1.9 million visitors last year, the largest number for any federal park in Texas.

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, winter habitat for whooping cranes, will receive $96,000. Dan Alonso, refuge manager, said the money will convert “some of our electric needs to solar,” providing a “greening” of the bird sanctuary.

Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge will get $29,000 to improve boat access, said Jose Viramontes, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman.